Rice Football 2009: With the Big Three gone, leadership role falls on wide shoulders of stalwart senior defensive back Andrew Sendejo

By Casey Michel     9/3/09 7:00pm

Andrew Sendejo recognizes that the beauty of college athletics lies in the turnover. Not the interception, per se - though as a defensive back he wouldn't be opposed to snatching one - but the personnel. Every year, roles are vacated and new, untried blood takes over. The constant rotation, year in and year out, can throw a team out of whack or a role into question. For some, it does - look no further than Rice's quarterback quandary if you want proof. But for the forward-looking, the new role does not quire a mile-long leap, but an inch-long shuffle.

The football team will take the field for the first time this season tomorrow afternoon, and while others scramble to learn roles and skills, Sendejo, a senior defensive back, will be the one shuffling ahead. He will be settling into a role he has been warming to for the last three seasons, ever since he first played under Todd Graham three years ago.

He will be the team's leader.

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It's not atypical for a rising senior to fill the role, but Sendejo's ascendency comes at a rather awkward time. Last year's triumvirate, the best trio Rice has seen in decades, has moved on: Former receiver Jarett Dillard is struggling in Jacksonville; former quarterback Chase Clement is out of football entirely; and former too-many-positions-to-count James Casey is lighting up Reliant Stadium. Their departure left holes too wide to measure, and Sendejo is left to fill the vacuum.

Fortunately, he knew what he was in for ever since he first stepped between the hashmarks.

"It's not like I knew it wasn't going to happen," Sendejo said. "I was fortunate to have started since I was a freshman, so I think that built up my image as leader to some of these guys. It's not like it's something totally new to me."

And it's not like it's totally new to his teammates, either. As he mentioned, Sendejo has more than his fair share of experience, having started 35 games over the course of his notable three-year career. But he hasn't merely been on the field for the first whistle: He's also achieved the accolades befitting his new status.

After leading the Owls with 94 tackles in 2009 - which came despite missing three games with a sprained ankle - Sendejo received a second-team All-Conference USA selection from the members of the media. Last year's success has also landed him as a preseason All-C-USA pick by conference coaches.

But if awards are too superficial, then let the statistics speak: With 171 career solo tackles heading into tomorrow's game, Sendejo leads not just his team, not just his conference, but the entire nation.

Yet football is anything but individual, and a holistic look at Rice's defense reveals some glaring holes, especially in pass coverage. Last year Rice was fourth-worst in the conference by allowing 33.3 points per game, nearly two touchdowns worse than league-best East Carolina University. If Sendejo is to consider his leadership role fulfilled, he must teach the defense to lead the team the way the offense has the last three years.

"[The defense has] a lot more guys coming back [than the offense], and it's our role to pick up the slack, whereas the last couple years the offense has kind of picked up any slack that the defense or special teams may have left behind," Sendejo said. "The defense [wants] to be the anchor of the team."

Already, that attitude is seeping down through the ranks. After months of rallying speeches and lung-busting hits in practice, it's only to be expected that Sendejo would create an impact.

"Having him around makes all the younger guys want to work harder and become that kind of guy that the team depends on," freshman safety Tanner Leland said. "He balances both [being vocal and leading by example], and he excels at both."

But Sendejo won't be alone in his place on top of the team. Fifth-year quarterback John Thomas Shepherd, senior receiver Toren Dixon, senior linebacker Terrance Garmon and a handful of other three-year lettermen will be staking the same claim. And rightfully so: This group of seniors has heralded in the most prosperous years Rice football has seen in over a generation, beginning with 2006's New Orleans Bowl and peaking with last season's 2009 Texas Bowl trashing of Western Michigan University.

But there is little doubt that Sendejo will be the face, and the voice, that the team turns to. And perhaps this run, as marvelous as it's been, hasn't yet peaked. If the team can reach its goal - to go 1-0 every week - who is to say that Sendejo's impact won't be large enough to replace Casey, Clement and Dillard?

"Coming through the system, you know when guys are going to be leaving and when it's going to be your time to stand up in front of the team and talk about team goals and what you want to accomplish," Sendejo said. "It's going to be a lot of fun.

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